The adoption
certificate (suitable for framing) is sent in a portfolio and includes
the adoptee(s) name(s). Each has a photo of the individual
whale or matriarch of the family or photos of mother/calf pair. A
Family Tree is also
included when adopting a family. The portfolio will also include
information about the adoptive whale(s), North Atlantic right whales
and the research station. A postcard, magnet or bookmark will
also be included.

CLASS
PROJECTS. Personalized individual business-size cards can
be
included for each student as well as a class certificate. An
age-appropriate activity will also be included.

An update on the
whales will be sent annually. To continue receiving this
newsletter an annual donation of $15 is required or other right whales
can be adopted.

The Grand
Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station (GMWSRS) is a registered
charity in Canada incorporated in 1981 by its founder, the late Dr.
David
Gaskin.

We are dedicated to research and education which promote
conservation of the marine environment. Our researchers study
seabirds
and marine mammals in the lower Bay of Fundy, Canada, and
develop/deliver
education and stewardship programs through a natural history museum,
invited
lectures, publications, specific projects, a web site and outdoor
exhibits.

Funding
for this web site is from the Government of Canada Habitat Stewardship
Program
for Species at Riskand
donations to the GMWSRS.

Recovery of
right whales is contingent on protecting their habitat and preventing
accidental deaths.

Elements to
consider:

Incidental deaths (ship
strikes &
entanglement)

Habitat
changes

Toxins
& pollutants

Genetic bottlenecking

Ship Strikes.

All large whales are
affected by ship strikes but some seem more vulnerable than others.

The location of
whales and movement of vessels often overlap

Whales use various
areas for calving, breeding, feeding or migration

Vessels, both large and small, may be using shipping routes into ports, fishing, travelling through areas not regulated by shipping lanes, or other marine activities including pleasure trips.

Some of the first recorded ship strikes with whales occurred in the 1800s.

Why do vessels and
whales collide?

Many vessels
travel much faster than whales can swim.

At night or in
the fog captains can't see whales.

Whales will
sometimes surface after long dives and if travelling quickly through an area, the captain may not realize the whales are even there.

Some people may assume that the whales
will get out of the way.

But why don't the whales get out of the way?

Whales spend most of their time diving and when they surface they must recover from the previous dive and prepare for the next. They may also rest at or near the surface.

Whales that live in areas where there aren't
many vessels, such as in the high Arctic, react more strongly to motor noise. Those that live along the busy areas, such as the eastern seaboard of North America, are less likely to react, probably habituated to vessel noise.

But the problem is more complicated.

Most noise is coming from the stern or back
of the vessel where the propellors are located. There is little noise at the bow. Noise in deep water does not travel as it does in shallow water and there may be spots where vessel noise can't be heard even though the vessel is moving toward the whale.

Many vessels travel much faster than many whales. This does not give whales much time to react when surfacing from a dive. Whales may not be able to dive deeply and quickly enough to avoid vessels with deep keels.

What can be done?

Always have a dedicated bow watch when travelling in areas where whales are
known to occur.

Slow down so
whales will have more time to get out of the way.

Reroute trips to avoid areas where whales are located . This is being proposed for an area off Nova Scotia where Right whales congregate in the summer and fall to feed.

Reroute shipping lanes outside of the whales most common areas if possible. This was done in the Bay of Fundy in 2003 - the first time shipping lanes have been modified to protect a whale species.

Set up hydrophone arrays that can be accessed remotely. By eavesdropping on the whales, vessel traffic can be notified of the presence of whales even when
no boat or aerial surveys can be done.

Delineate areas where whales are most common with conservation areas (as was done in the Bay of Fundy and the Roseway Basin off Nova Scotia) or marine protected areas which are clearly outlined on charts. This, however, does not mean that the whales will only be here and caution should be taken in surrounding waters as well.

Entanglements.

Many types of fishing require the fishing gear to be anchored in place (e.g. gill nets, herring weirs) or are traps sitting on the bottom with lines extending to the surface and buoys or floats to locate the gear (e.g. lobster, crab or cod traps).

These lines in the water can extend to great
depths where there is little light and therefore difficult or impossible to see.

If a whale is swimming in the vicinity of these lines, the rope may become lodge in the whale's mouth and baleen if the whale is feeding or wrapped around the whale's body if the whale becomes entangled in loose line. The immediate reaction of the whale when the line is encountered is to roll which often makes it worse. The whales are strong enough that they may part the rope and take some of the fishing gear with them. Most rope is made to last and can remain on the whale for years.

Occasionally whales may also become entangled in the nets themselves.

Entrapments

Entrapment can also occur in such things as herring weirs, large traps near shore with large wooden poles driven in the bottom with netting wrapped around the entire structure. An opening large enough for vessels (and whales) to
enter usually faces the shore.

What can be done?

Fishermen can
avoid areas where whales are found.

Gear can be modified to limit the amount of rope and have weaker rope or breakaway links to allow the whales to free themselves.

Ultimately the less rope in the water, the less likely whales will become entangled. When whales are entangled, specialized teams can intervene by cutting lines off the whale but some right whales have been entangled in lines
for years.

Young whales that are rapidly growing are particularly vulnerable as the lines become tighter as the whale grows and can cut into their skin and even bone. Infections can result and can kill the whale.

The whale may also be prevented from feeding if some of the line is swallowed or tightly wrapped around the mouth.

Herring weir operators can remove the whales using techniques developed for this by the fishermen and the Grand Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station. With right whales this usually means opening a section of the trap facing open water by removing netting and poles to the seafloor. Once the opening is wide enough the right whale will immediately swim out.

Genetics

Genetic
analyses has been underway for over a decade. Genetic profiles help us:

determine individual relatedness and paternity

link dead whales and other samples of unknown origin back to known individuals

help
us look at the genetic basis behind reproduction and health

help us determine how whaling affected this species.

Right
whale breaching in the Bay of Fundy. Photo: Laurie Murison

Low Genetic Diversity

Right whale
populations were severely reduced leading to low genetic diversity

This can
lead to increased inbreeding, resulting in:

low
reproductive rates

lower
calf survival

lowered
disease resistance

Some animal
populations have recovered from similar situations

Intervention
is not possible but protecting right whales from incidental mortality
is
crucial.Major Habitat Areas of North
Atlantic Right Whales
in the Western North Atlantic

Only
limited information is available as to the effects on right whales

Other
toxic chemicals are also transported over water or can enter from land
spills

Bay of Fundy

Local groups, industry and government agencies regularly meet to develop contingency planning, train volunteers and educate the public in the event of a disaster

More
information is needed to properly understand how to protect marine
mammals, and
in particular right whales

Proper
disposal & treatment of petroleum products can help

Mother and calf right whale diving in the Bay of
Fundy. Photo: Laurie Murison

Summary

North Atlantic right whales are highly
endangered

By our mere existence,
humans
threaten the survival of right whales

Ship strikes &
entanglement in
fishing gear are recognized as leading causes of death

However, it is equally
important to
protect right whale habitat - which means preserving oceans from
radical
changes

The
Whales & How These Problems Affect Them

Because right whales
are:

slow swimming

difficult to see

rest at the surface

engage in surface social behaviour

react at the last minute to approaching vessels,

they are vulnerable to being hit.

Calvin #2223:
At 8 months, Calvin
was weaned prematurely when her mother, Delilah
#1223, was struck by a ship and killed in the Bay of Fundy. Against all odds, she survived without her mother.
In 2000 Calvin was found entangled in fishing gear. A satellite telemetry buoy was attached to a trailing line and she was tracked for several months as she travelled in the Gulf of Maine before the gear was successfully removed in 2001 by the disentanglement team from the Center for Coastal
Studies, Provincetown, MA.

Slash #1303:

Slash was discovered dead March 17, 2011, off the coast of Virginia. Her carcass wasn't recovered but it is suspected that she died from a vessel strike.
Kleenex #1142:

The
fathers of
two of Kleenex's calves,
(#1050 father of calf #1123 Drippy-nose, and Dingle #1144
father of calf #2642) have scarred flukes. Scars
can have many origins but one of the most common
cause is
entanglement in fishing gear – approximately 70% of right whales show
some scarring that can be related to entanglement. Scarring in right whales often turns white making the scars noticeable against the black or dark grey skin.

Baldy #1240:

Dingle #1144 (see above) is also the father of one of Baldy's
calves, #1503, a female.

Genetic profiling
has allowed identification of the sex of whales when not known and who
the fathers are of some of the calves. This then allows the
building of family trees. For instance, Dingle has been
identified as the father of calves for both Kleenex #1142 and Baldy #1240. Not all males have been genetically profiled so more matches will be made.

Skin samples provide the live genetic material. Skin samples are most frequently obtained through biopsies using a biopsy dart injected with a crossbow from a safe distance. The whales usually do not react
to the darting process.

Tissues from biopsies or dead whales can also be analyzed for contaminants. Because right whales feed low on the food web zooplankton), their levels of contaminants are often low unlike beluga whales which often
have high levels of contaminants but prefer eating fish and squid.

Right whales are also exposed to biotoxins such as red tide which causes paralytic
shellfish poisoning. Continued exposure to this toxin can caused reproductive problems but it is unknown if right whales can deal more effectively with continued exposure than humans.

When whales become the interest of the media because of
entanglement they are usually given a name if they do not already have one. Names give a more personal touch to the story than their catalogue numbers.

Because of their endangered status, death of right whales from ship strikes can be a major factor in preventing the recovery of this species, particularly if the whales struck and killed are females, essentially to the survival of the species. The number of whale deaths is underestimated because not all whales struck by ships are found. The cause of death of all dead whales is not always known, particularly
when the whales are badly decomposed.

Right Whale Characteristics

slow swimming

black
or grey with white patches

v-shaped blow

no dorsal fin

large, broad
flippers

lift
their large black tail when diving

identified
by craggy patches on their heads called callosities

very
social engaging in surface activities

main
prey are zooplankton (copepods and krill)

From the
photo-identification work and coastal surveys, researchers have
identified
migratory routes and specific critical habitats commonly used by most
right
whales for calving, feeding and nursery areas.

Most calves
are born in the coastal waters of the southeastern U.S. between December and
March. After
birth, calves are taken to nursery areas ranging from Cape CodBay north.

Distinct
wintering ground for the rest of the right whales are not completely
known.

By April
many whales are found in their feeding areas in the Great South Channel
and Cape CodBay.

By summer whales are found
further
north in the Bay of Fundy and the RosewayBasin. These areas have been
identified as
critical right whale habitats.

Some whales
may travel further north during the summer and fall to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and as far as Iceland.

The movement
of right whales does place them in direct conflict with shipping,
fishing, and habitat disturbances.

What
happens if a dead
right whale is
found?

If
the carcass can be recovered, a team will attempt a dissection or
necropsy

Even
though right whales were heavily hunted, little is known about them

Valuable
information can be learned including cause of death

A
growing number of museums have added skeletons to their collections to
preserve
& display

Role of
Research

Even
basic biology about right whales is lacking in many cases

Directed
research can help with specific problems as well as generating new
information